Lamp supports



June 17, 1958 G, SELIG 2,839,321

LARP SUPPORTS Filed Dec. 9, 1955 ||iv yummm l "M" IH )L INVENTOR 1 3f g L M, [t'lh BY GUENTHER saLlc Y IH a www www J ATTORNEYS LAMP SUPPORTS Guenther Selig, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Remsel Industries, Inc., Chicago, lll., a corporation of Illinois Application December 9, 1955, Serial No. 552,075

2 Claims. (Cl. 287--99) This invention relates to a foldable support for a photographers floodlight, and more particularly to a latch device adapted to be used therewith.

In certain types of photography, it is advantageous to utilize a support for a plurality of flood lamps for lighting the subject. Such supports are necessarily of elongated form, having individual sockets for the respective lamps. To facilitate transportation of equipment of this kind, it is desirable that the support for the lamps be foldable, and the primary object of the present invention is to enable such a foldable support to be readily unfolded and latched up to afford the desired flood lighting support.

Specifically, it is the object of the present invention to enable a support of the foregoing kind to be latched by the camming of a detent as an incident to unfolding the support to its fully extended condition, and to be collapsed or folded merely by manually depressing the aforesaid detent to disengage the catch.

Other and further objects ofthe present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and are illustrated in the accompanying drawing which, by way of illustration, shows a preferred embodiment of the present invention and the principle thereof and what I now consider to be the best mode in which I have contemplated applying that principle. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principle may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a support embodying the features of the present invention, this support being illustrated in partially unfolded condition; Y

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary detail perspective on an enlarged scale showing the central portion of the support in its latched or locked condition;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating the relation of the parts just prior to actuation of the latch;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view similar to Fig. 3 illustrating the relation of the parts when the support is fully latched; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan view of the spring assembly for the detent.

The present invention is illustrated in the drawing as embodied in a support constituting a fixture for photographic flood lamps. The support 10 comprises a pair of complementary arms 11 and 12 which are formed from suitable sheet metal stampings to provide respective housing shells for a pair of right-hand lamp sockets 15 and 16 and a pair of left-hand sockets 18 and 19 together with the necessary wiring. At the back of the support, not shown, are a plug socket and an off-on switch, and a removable bayonet knob 13 provided on one of the support arms carries a fuse.

The inner ends of the arms 11 and 12 are hinged to States Patent D Patented June 17, 1958 ice enable folded and unfolded relations to be achieved, and

to this end a U-shaped bracket 20 is secured Vas by rivets bracket 20 is secured to the top panel 21 so that the-V opposite legs 22 and 23 thereof embrace portions of the side walls of the arm 11 at the inner end thereof, and it will be observed 'that the inner edges of the bracket extend beyond the end Wall 25 of the support arm 11 as shown in Fig. 1. When the two arms 11 and 12 are fully extended as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the projecting portions of the bracket 20 embrace the inner end portion of the arms 12, and this is a latched condition as will be described in detail below.

Complementary hinge parts of the usual kind (not shown) are attached'to the bottom walls of the support arms 11 and 12 at the inner ends thereof, and a hinge pin 28, Fig. l, is associated with the hinge parts thus provided, this pin 28 being passed through openings provided at the` lower ends of the bracket legs 22 and 23.

It is advantageous to extend the wiring for the lamp sockets across the hinge from one support arm to the o-ther. To this end, a coil spring 30, Fig. l, serving as a conduit for such wiring is extended between the inner end wall 25 of the support arm 11 and the inner end wall 31 of the opposite support arms 12, and this spring is secured in place by suitable washers at the ends thereof within the housing afforded by the arms 11 and 12.

The top wall 32 of the left-hand support arm 12 is readily removable, being secured in place by lugs 33 formed on the side edges of the top wall 32 so as to fit into corresponding depressions formed in the side walls of the support arm 12, so that by pressing slightly inwardly on the side Walls of the support wall 12 the top wall 32 may be removed therefrom.

As shown in Fig. 5, a relatively long leaf spring 35 has one end thereof secured by a strap 36 to the underside of the top wall 32 of the left-hand support arm 12, and the opposite end of this spring 35 terminates just inwardly of the inner end of the top wall 32.

A detent 40 is mounted in an opening formed in the top wall 32 at the inner end thereof, and the lower end of the detent 40 is suitably anchored to the inner end of the spring 35 as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The oppo- The bight portion of the bracket 20 serves as a hold down collar adapted to cooperate with the spring detent carried by the arm 12. Thus, as shown particularly in Figs. 2, 3, and 4, the inner or forward edge of the bight portion of the bracket 20 is provided with a slot 42 which opens at such forward edge, and as shown particularly in Fig. 2 the slot 42 is in the present instance bell-shaped or key-hole shaped which is to say that the slot 42 in the major or rear portion thereof is complementary to an enlarged circular portion 43 provided on the detent 40 between the lower end thereof that is secured by the spring 35 and a reduced portion 45 that is below the head 41, while the forward portion of the slot 42 is straightened at either side to provide a neck of width W, Fig. 2, of less dimension than the enlargement 43 of the detent 40. The reduced neck or fore portion of the slot 42 is adapted, however, to pass the reduced portion 45 of the detent 40 as will now be described.

The slot 42 opening at the edge of the hold down collar afforded by the bracket 20 defines spaced apart ears 42A and 42B. When the support 10 is to be unfolded from its collapsed position shown in Fig. 1, the two arms 11 and 12 are rotated on the pin 28 to advance the slot 42 in the bracket 20 toward the detent 40. Thus, it will be realized that the slot 42 and the reduced portion 45 of the detent are so oriented relative to the hinge axis as afforded by the hinge pin 28 as to be spaced the same radial extent from the hinge axis, which is to say that the parts 42 and 45 are movable along an arc having the hinge axis as its center. The position of the parts just prior to the latch being effective is shown in Fig. 3, and at this stage the ears 42A and 42B at the forward end of the slot 42 repose on the shoulder 40S of the detentthat separates the portions 43 and 45 of the detent and embrace the reduced portion 45 of the detent. Upon further inward and downward pivoting movement of the arms 11 and 12 toward one another, the ears at the ends of the slot 42 are effective on the shoulder 40S of the detent to cam the detent downwardly as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 4 until the rear portion of the slot 42 which is fully ycomplementary lto the enlargement 43 of the detent registers therewith, whereupon the detent 40 recovers and springs upwardly within the opening 42 as shown in Fig. 2 The ears 42A and 42B then embrace the forward portions of the detent enlargement 43 serving now as a catch, and since these ears are separated by a distance less than the diameter of the detent enlargement 43 it is impossible to open the arms 11 and 12 without depressing the detent 40 to present the reduced portion 45 thereof to the opening 42.

It is preferred that the ears, 42A and 42B be slightly dog-eared upwardly as shown in Fig. 2 to assure an eiective passage thereof on to the shoulder 40S, since when the shoulder 40S is initially engaged the inner end of the support arm 11 is advancing in a forward direction.v

Hence, while I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to be understood that this is capable of variation and modification, and I therefore do not wish to be limited to the precise details set forth, but desire to avail myself of such changes and alterations as fall within the purview of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In hinged structure of the kind described including respective hinged parts having adjacent inner ends, a latch for latching such adjacent parts at Such inner ends and comprising, a depressable spring detent provided adjacent the inner end on one such part and having a reduced pori' tion, and an enlarged portion terminating in a shoulder separating said portions of the detent, the enlarged portion of said detent constituting a catch, means on the other of said parts affording a hold down collar adjacent the inner end thereof and adapted to be held by said catch, said collar being formed with a slot opening at one edge spaced forwardly of the inner end of said other part so as to provide spaced apart ears at such edge forwardly of said inner end of said other part and said slot extending 4 l rearwardly therefrom away from the inner end of said other part, said ears being spaced apart sufficiently to pass said reduced portion of the detent but insufficiently to pass said shoulder and enlarged. portion of the detent, said slot and the reduced portion of said detent being disposed on an arc having the hinge axis as its center and said slot in the portion rearwardly of said ears being enlarged to the size of said enlarged portion of the detent, so that by forwardly advancing said slot and said reduced portion of the detent about said arc and engaging said ears with said shoulder and then further advancing the slot and the detent forwardly toward one another the detent is depressed until the ears pass forwardly beyond said reduced portion of the detent whereupon the detent recovers with the enlarged portion thereof disposed in the rear portion of the slot and is embraced by said ears at the forward portion thereof.

2. In a foldable flood lamp support having hinged arms adapted to abut at the inner ends thereof when unfolded to fully extended position, a depressable spring detent at the inner end of one of such arms and having a reduced portion, an enlarged portion on the detent terminating in a shoulder separating said portions of the detent, means at the inner end of the other of such arms affording a hold down collar adapted to be held by said detent, said collar having an edge forwardly of the inner end of said other arm adapted to be disposed opposite the detent and being formed with a slot having an open end at such edge to provide spaced apart ears on said collar, said slot being enlarged rearwardly of said ears complementary to the enlarged portion of the detent, said slot and the reduced portion of said detent being disposed on an are having the hinge axis `as its center, and said ears being spaced apart sufliciently to pass the reduced portion of said detent but insufficiently to pass the enlarged portion of said detent so that by pivoting the arms inwardly about the hinge therefor and advancing said slot and the reduced portion of said detent forwardly toward one another about said arc said ears of said collar first engage the shoulder of the detent to depress the detent and then pass beyond the reduced portion thereof whereupon the detent recovers to latching' position within the enlarged portion of said slot and said ears are disposed on one side of said reduced portion of the detent in embracing relation thereto.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 873,625 Starrett Dec. 10, 1907 2,577,399 Bell Dec. 4, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 249,740 Great Britain Apr. 1, 1926 

